1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image copy device, an image copy method, an information processing device, and a program configured to determine whether copy of paper medium is prohibited or permitted by a code provided to the manuscript.
2. Description of the Related Art
According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-284472, in a case where a code exists in the manuscript, detection and decoding of the code are performed from image data obtained by scanning the manuscript. Only when copy permission information is obtained as a result of decoding, the image data is printed. If copy prohibition information is obtained, or detection of a code in the manuscript fails, printing is canceled and no copy of the manuscript is output.
Usually, a double-sided manuscript consisting of a plurality of sheets may include a manuscript with one side being blank (a manuscript with nothing printed on one side, referred to as a one-side-blank manuscript in the following), or a manuscript with both sides being blank (referred to as a both-side-blank manuscript in the following). Since a one-side-blank manuscript has a code indicating copy permission information only on the printed side (front side), the one-sided manuscript has no code printed on the back side. A both-side blank manuscript has no code printed on either side. The following problem arises when printing such a manuscript. That is, when scanning both sides of such a one-side-blank manuscript for copy by a manuscript copy function described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-284472, scanning and copying are canceled due to absence of a copy permission code on the back side of the manuscript, and although copy of the front side is permitted, copy of the front side is prohibited. Similarly, there is a problem that, when a both-side blank manuscript is included in a double-sided manuscript consisting of a plurality of sheets, scanning and copying are canceled and, although copy of other manuscripts is permitted, copy of the other manuscripts is also prohibited.